With the introduction of googles project tango it will be possible to generate high quality 3d maps in real time, a navigation mesh can then be formed allowing robotics to navigate and also avoid obsticals. I use a game engine that could drive this right now, but the engine I use can not have geometry added in real time. A hack would be to reload the map and restart the engine every few frames......

Long story short the possiblities for home made high quality robotics are getting better.

_________________Let not the bindings of society hold you back from improving it.... the masses follow where the bold explore.

_________________Single-stage-to-orbit was already shown possible 50 years ago with the Titan II first stage. Contrary to popular belief, SSTO's in fact are actually easy. Just use the most efficient engines and stages at the same time, and the result will automatically be SSTO.Blog: http://exoscientist.blogspot.com

I've got a (WIP) giant general purpose robotic arm hanging form the ceiling behind me. Took a while to make on my tiny desktop 3D printer, but now I can confirm with certainty that robotics at home is real. I already got punched by it in the head a few times. Felt pretty real!

It's currently controlled it from within a custom-built VR environment (using Oculus Rift VR headset), and there is still a lot of work to be done, but it would make things much easier if it generated its own point-cloud representation of the surroundings.

I imagine that when this Google Tango device is released, such an irresistibly lightweight and compact point-cloud generator will quickly get integrated into DIY projects similar to mine.